Wednesday 14 June 2017 15:58, UK
Most people who follow Rugby League, either on television or from the terraces, know the names of the players in the first-team squads.
They turn up or tune in and hope that the so-called 'production line' of talent will continue to develop players who can entertain them and help their favourite team to win.
They're not really bothered how they get there; they assume that an appropriate pathway exists and wait for them to arrive on the big stage.
We often hear about the work done in the academies to guide and improve the younger players and then just assume that they magically get from being a young and enthusiastic teenager into someone in their early 20s who is capable of playing in a high-pressure, highly-professional and demanding Super League competition.
The dual registration system has been a failure and the sooner the people who implemented this admit the sooner we'll find a better alternative.
There will always be a handful of exceptions - players like Sam Burgess, John Bateman, Daryl Clark, Tom Johnstone, Joe Westerman, Andy Farrell; you usually get one or two a year. They found a way into the first team and were immediately good enough to stay there.
But they are the exceptional cases and if we want the sport to sustain its current standards, or possibly even improve, then we need to get smarter at how we help players to maximise their potential.
The majority don't follow that fast-tracked pathway.
As an example, I've picked out one player who started the season in the St Helens team when Matty Smith was injured. At 20 years of age, Danny Richardson is a perfect example of a player who needs a better system to help him become what Luke Gale is today.
St Helens have done a brilliant job so far and have invested time, money and effort into him over several years. They've even gone to the trouble of taking him on junior tours of Australia to help develop him on and off the field.
However, here is the biggest challenge that the game faces. After playing in the opening three rounds of Super League he was dropped from the first team until he reappeared as a sub last week.
In total, that's 14 weeks. During that time, he played a total of three competitive games (for the record they were against Hull, Wigan and Warrington, clubs who recognise the need for a proper pathway).
'A stupid idea'
Several years ago, the sport decided to do away with reserve teams. At the time it was felt as though the younger players could learn and develop by playing on loan at clubs in the Championship or League 1, although it seemed to me a financially-motivated decision rather than a performance one.
I thought at the time that it was a stupid idea for the sport. There are pros and cons I suppose, but the cons are 10 times greater and we urgently need to address this issue.
The dual registration system has been a failure and the sooner the people who implemented this admit the sooner we'll find a better alternative.
St Helens have an excellent reputation at helping young players to improve but they need a competition for those older than 19 to play in.
It's obvious when you watch a game of Rugby League that not every young player will be ready after one run-out for the first team, especially for those in the more mentally-demanding positions like scrum-half.
I'm sure that every team in the competition would love to have Luke Gale in their squad. At 28 he has learned his trade, but as a sport I don't think we necessarily helped him or gave him the best chance.
Others may argue that by sending him to Doncaster and London, Gale was forced to learn the hard way but the wastage rate is too high if we adapt that approach. Too much talent is lost.
Young players need to play games, competitive ones against players of a similar standard and that hasn't been happening for Saints' young half-back this year.
We have a performance department at the sports HQ that needs to perform. If the governing body is serious about the sport they need to govern and give young lads a better chance of being the best that they can be.
